A lot of countries are issuing commemorative banknotes celebrating numerous occasions. The European Central Bank (ECB) hasn't issued a single commemorative note yet and (as far as we know) has no intention to do so stating it's to expensive and doens't belong in a modern currency system. Also: any celebration of an historic occasion of a European country is bound to piss off another (neighboring) country I guess.

But Numismag has photos of a special commemorative banknote printed by a Euro nation. After the German elections of 24 September 2017 Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble retired at the age of 75 from politics and government. Out of the many gifts offered to him by the various European Banks and governments, the gift from the National Bank of Slovakia stands out.

It is a commemorative (fantasy) banknote of 100 euro with the face of Wolfgang Schäuble on the front. The note has been specially printed for the National Bank of Slovakia possibly by the Bundesdruckrei, the German central bank printing works. This gift was presented in the form of a bundle of several banknotes, in a box.

I really hope the ECB will one day reconsider its position on commemorative banknotes because if this can be the result, I can still dream of one day having an actual attractive looking Euro banknote in my pocket.

Hello, I'm Steven Bron and welcome to my blog on banknotes! Here you can find: breaking news, background articles and of course my personal collection (world notes or at least one from each country, commemorative notes and polymer notes).